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Teachers were the stars at PBS concert

Oct 18, 2007 8:21 PM

Usually, when educators attend a concert, they go as spectators, listen to the music and, if the artists on stage are talented and lucky, applaud at the appropriate moments.

But a town hall event held in September changed all that.

For once, the all-stars were in the cushioned seats, not on stage, and the audience was reminded of that, like clockwork, before every performer strummed a guitar or played the piano.

The concert, called “Tribute to Teachers,” was organized by the UFT and Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. It was shown on Channel 13 on Oct. 4. The station honored its roots as an educational channel by turning over an hour to broadcast one accolade after another from some of America’s biggest names in entertainment.

Every performer recalled details about a teacher as if they were in school yesterday. They painted rich portraits, using humor to fill in the blanks and leaving the audience with a strong impression: These teachers were powerful influences in their lives. You didn’t have to read between the lines to get the main point: The celebrities were on stage because of their teachers.

“How seldom we thank the people we love,” Yarrow said in a preconcert interview. “I do this because of the enormous amount of respect I have for our teachers.”

Yarrow recalled how much of an influence his mother — a New York City public school speech and drama teacher — had on him and thousands of students during the course of her career. “Teachers don’t take the job for money,” the folk singer said. “They see humanity and they want to make a difference in terms of saving it.”

Folk singer-songwriter Judy Collins averred that it was a great night for teachers.

“I was blessed with fantastic teachers,” she said before rattling off the name of Virginia McCarthy, who she still remembers more than she does Rachmaninoff, and her social studies teacher Mr. Lindbloom, who introduced her to avant-garde movies. “I bless them every day of my life,” Collins said.

Singer-songwriter Tom Paxton remembered his 9th-grade English teacher, Carolyn Foster, who he claimed set a flame in him. “She said I would find myself through the written word,” Paxton said. “And Joe Fusco, the band director, was the first person to tell me I was a musician.”

A song for everyday heroes was performed by Steve Seskin, a proud graduate of a New York City public school. “I thank all my teachers from the High School for Music and Art,” Seksin said. “Without them, there would be no way I would be standing here.”

He talked about his teacher and mentor, Victoria Savath, who built his self-esteem. “I was painfully shy and she saw something in me,” Seskin told the audience — before, to loud applause, putting in a pitch for increased schools funding for arts and music.

Tim McCarver, a former major league baseball player and current broadcaster, said his favorite teacher was Brother William, who kept him in a surreal, hypnotic state. “Little did I know that listening to him explain Macbeth, ‘Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair,’ would serve me well in the TV booth,” McCarver said.

Baby Jay, a teenage rapper from Houston, said he never would have been able to write music if it hadn’t been for his 8th-grade teacher. “You change kids’ lives every day,” he said. “God bless you all.”

Noel Paul Stookey, aka Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary, told a story about the junior high school teacher who recognized his creative side early on and allowed him to make the announcement every morning in the principal’s office, using all his voice-over skills. Singer Christine Evans said her music teacher was more than just a teacher. “He reached out to me,” she said.

Yarrow told the New York Teacher that his goal is to convince a major book publishing company to send a DVD of the show to every educator in America.

The last word belonged to Rosie O’Donnell: “Teachers Rock.”